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P. J. Soles
| birth_place = Frankfurt, Germany | occupation = Actress | alma_mater= | yearsactive = 1973–present | spouse = | children = 2 }} Pamela Jayne Soles (née Hardon; born July 17, 1950) is a German-born American actress. She made her film debut in 1976 as Norma Watson in Brian De Palma's Carrie (1976) before portraying Lynda van der Klok in John Carpenter's Halloween (1978) and Riff Randell in Allan Arkush's Rock 'n' Roll High School (1979). She has since appeared in a variety of films including Breaking Away (1979), Private Benjamin (1980), Stripes (1981), Sweet Dreams (1985), Jawbreaker (1999), and The Devil's Rejects (2005). Early life Soles was born Pamela Jayne Hardon in Frankfurt, Germany, to an American mother from New Jersey, Nancy Hardon, and a Dutch father from Rotterdam, Cornelis Johannes Hardon II. At the time, her father was working for an international insurance company and the family moved all over the world. Soles lived in Casablanca, Morocco, and Maracaibo, Venezuela, where she learned to speak fluent Spanish, and then Brussels, Belgium, where she went to high school at the International School of Brussels. Soles attended Briarcliff College in White Plains, New York, later transferring to Georgetown University, and had aspirations to become the first woman ambassador to the Soviet Union. This career goal changed when she visited the Actors Studio in New York City, and Soles was inspired to pursue acting. Career Soles moved to Manhattan and began acting in commercials and modeling for fashion magazines, and relocated to Los Angeles in 1975. She was among the hundreds of actors auditioning for Brian De Palma and George Lucas in their joint casting session for Carrie (1976) and Star Wars (1977). She originally auditioned for the role of Princess Leia in Star Wars but the part ultimately went to Carrie Fisher. However, she was cast as Norma Watson in Brian De Palma's Carrie. She starred alongside Sissy Spacek, Nancy Allen, John Travolta, and Piper Laurie. Originally, her character was only supposed to have one line but De Palma expanded her role. Soles was injured on the set during filming, when a blast from a fire hose during the prom scene ruptured her eardrum. The same year, she reunited with Carrie costar John Travolta in Randal Kleiser's television film The Boy in the Plastic Bubble. Subsequently, she went to Georgia to film Our Winning Season (1978) and met actor Dennis Quaid. They were married in 1978 in Texas on a dude ranch, and both appeared in the comedy film Breaking Away in 1979. She is most known for her performance as Lynda van der Klok in the classic horror film Halloween (1978) directed by John Carpenter, the final victim of the Michael Myers character. Carpenter wanted her for his film Halloween after seeing Carrie.Exclusive: A Talk with P.J. Soles He wrote the part of Lynda specifically for her because of the way she said the word "totally". The following year, Soles was cast as Riff Randell in the musical comedy film Rock 'n' Roll High School (1979) with The Ramones. She has a singing credit for a second version of the title song on the movie's soundtrack. She reprised the role of Riff Randell in the artwork for the Local H album Whatever Happened to P.J. Soles?. In 1980, Soles portrayed Private Wanda Winter in the comedy film Private Benjamin. The following year, she portrayed Bill Murray's girlfriend, Stella Hansen, in the comedy film Stripes. In 1981, Soles filmed a new scene to be inserted into the television version of Halloween. In 1985, Soles starred alongside Jessica Lange as Wanda in Karel Reisz's biographical film Sweet Dreams. In 1999, Soles was cast in the black comedy film Jawbreaker. Soles appeared in The Donnas' music video for "Too Bad About Your Girl" in 2003 as her character Riff from Rock 'n' Roll High School. In 2005, Soles played the victim, Susan, of a family on a murderous rampage in the Rob Zombie movie The Devil's Rejects. In 2012, she starred alongside Barbara Steele, Heather Langenkamp, Camille Keaton, and Adrienne King in The Butterfly Room. In 2018, Soles was cast in a spoken cameo role as a teacher in the direct sequel, Halloween, directed by David Gordon Green. Personal life She married J. Steven Soles in 1973, when she resided in New York, but then made the move to Los Angeles to work in TV and movies. She and Soles subsequently divorced in 1975, although she decided to retain the name P.J. Soles. She was later married to actor Dennis Quaid from 1978 until their divorce in early 1983. Later that same year, she married Skip Holm, who was a stunt pilot on The Right Stuff (1983). They have a son named Sky (born in 1983) and a daughter named Ashley (born in 1988). She and Holm were divorced in 1998. Filmography Film Television Television film In popular culture * American alternative rock band Local H released an album in 2004 entitled Whatever Happened to P.J. Soles?. The album also includes a song entitled "P.J. Soles". * Soles is the subject of the song Sweet Pamela Jayne by English rock band The Breakdowns, from their 2014 album Rock 'n' Roller Skates. The song references the film Rock 'n' Roll High School in its lyrics. References External links *P.J. Soles' Official Page(Dead Link) * Category:1950 births Category:20th-century American actors Category:21st-century American actors Category:Actors Studio alumni Category:American expatriates in Morocco Category:American expatriates in Venezuela Category:American film actors Category:American television actors Category:American people of Dutch descent Category:Georgetown University alumni Category:Living people Category:People from Frankfurt